Spainish Springs
 

So what is the developer doing to bring in new restaurants since Gators, World of Beers and the third in The square now empty?
Seems to be me they are more focused on their new Eastport and Middleton vs where it all started.

An empty storefront costs them money so I'm sure they are trying to fill them.

An empty storefront in a new building in a new area with little competition might be easier to fill than an empty storefront in an old building in an established area with considerable competition just around the corner on 441.

A Spain Themed restaurant , I hope...Love those " spainards...Beautiful people"

Patience, grasshopper. They will get filled, but 2 of those locations need severe renovations. Gators and Margarita Republic are in really bad shape. Even when someone decides to pay the exorbitant rent, they're are going to have lots of work to do.

How much is the "exorbitant rent"?

The developers built Blondies. Open several days a week for a couple hours. What more do you need ? We also got rid of the pink plywood in front of the movie theater after many years. Things are progressing.

Actually the residents seem to have forgotten it. Business's survive because they have revenue/profits. So far, the residents around Sumter and Brownwood keep them viable but will see how that holds up as Middleton and Eastport come online and the those folks pull back from north of 44. Too easy to take cheap shots at the Developer.

Lots of turnover in Spanish Springs over the past 20 years or so.

It is not a new thing.

Call them and ask.

Here is wishing for a couple small scale eating establishments in town. My wish list would be an Island Fin Poke Bowl and a Tropical Smoothie. Unfortunately, small scale places, that don’t make the high profit margins from selling alcohol, would probably have a hard time making an adequate profit paying premium town square rent. That being said, Island Fin seems to be doing OK in Brownwood.

I have no idea what rents are in The Villages, but at one time they had a lock on rental spaces. The TV town squares are still an ideal place since many residents never leave TV property. But there is a lot of new development outside TV and a lot of that development is housing new restaurants. So hopefully TV management realize the competition is growing, the lock is gone, and they keep rents in a reasonable range.

I’m surprised Sawgrass establishments are still open. Local friends and neighbors complain about their prices. You can go to Brownwood everyday and get happy hour prices in the afternoon, no such thing at sawgrass. At Brownwood, or Lake Sumter, you have a lot of variety of restaurants that have great food for much less than Sawgrass. I’ve never eaten or had drinks at Sawgrass, nor have some of my friends because of what we’ve heard and we can walk there.

BINGO

If there appears to be a profitable market for food service, they will come.

If there appears to be no support, crickets.

Developer will need to invest in SS, and make it interesting again.
The residents around say 466A to turnpike, who travel to SS maybe once every 10 days, will soon make that trip south to Eastport and/or Middleton.
Developer still wants the cash flow from SS, so i would predict some investment - i.e. like they did with Blondies.

I have to agree with your assumptions about Sawgrass. This is our closest area but we seldom go here. The entertainment is usually subpar but does seem to be improving. The drink prices are $1 more than the other squares, the food is terrible and it's crowded. We do enjoy Tuesday Trivia and the occasionally Boozy Bingo but that's about it.

Margarita Republic was completely gutted right after it closed. Rumor was a wings place was going in. Nothing has happened. That was going on two years ago. Disappointing.

The few times we went to the Irish pub in Sawgrass, we enjoyed the food largely because it was different than other venues. I guess now that FMK has taken it over, you can enjoy the food that they serve elsewhere.

Try again...
 

Sawgrass has happy hour prices every day, both at The Villages bars and also at the Sawgrass Tavern. We go to Sawgrass and Brownwood a lot, the prices are not any different, unless maybe you eat at Five Guys in Brownwood.

Actually the menu is similar to the previous McGrady’s Pub in Sawgrass, such as scotch eggs, etc. A nice change from the usual FMK fare.

Cheapest way to get that place clean.

:jester:

"I've heard"... I suggest you check out Sawgrass for yourself and not base your assessment on what you've heard. Sawgrass does have happy hour(s), both at The Villages Entertainment establishments as well as Sawgrass Tavern. The food is good in The Market and Sawgrass Tavern and competitively priced. Try it, you just might like it!

Probably trying to figure out if he can turn them into street level (no stairs) apartments first. Then stores.

I truly would like to see an Indian restaurant here in The Villages. I think they would do very well. Seeing the nearest competition is in Leesburg and Ocala.

With all of the businesses that have closed at Spanish Springs, the rental costs are obviously too high! The owner/landlord has to charge rents that allow businesses to thrive and profit given the amount of patronage that the area attracts.

I'm glad to see the pink plywood gone, but Genesis signage is hideous.

To me, Five Guys is quite expensive considering what you get.

It is probably still a Haz Mat site.

This is a great idea and always better to have a locally-owned and managed establishment.
In addition to base rent, doesn’t TV collect an ‘overage’ - a portion of your gross or net revenue. Some, maybe most, small businesses prefer not to have anyone other than their state, nation, accountant, or municipality look at their books. Not that we ever intended to pocket our cash, but we always crossed out the overage clauses.
If we thrived it meant we were anchoring more traffic.
Even one empty business in a center makes for a less inviting shopping, dining, or entertainment atmosphere.

Maybe this is where Hooters was going! It's been reported in this venue that they do really good wings - and now there's a bankruptcy in their cards (which would account for the lack of activity)....

Retirement.

My time to take other's money is past, at this point in my life I support the economy by spending money at other's businesses.

So? Their development, their money, their decisions. Quit wanting to spend their money..

And that is the problem. Low patronage.

He's probably also surprised at how busy they are given the negative things he has heard. (which would make me wonder about the accuracy of the information I was hearing but....)

Of course it's rent....it couldn't possibly be the people that live there not supporting the businesses could it? The aging demo couldn't be a reason could it? What is the rent difference between SS vs Sumter and Brownwood since they seem to be doing ok? Also, how many vacant store fronts are in SS?

People forget that the demographics across The Villages varies. Older areas trend "older" which tends to be less mobile due to health and mindset. Things change.

In 2007 when I joined TOTVs, the site was perfect for those who needed recommendations, on restaurants, and business.

Those who actually ate at restaurants, or used a business, gave honest reviews.

It seems more posters crap on a business or restaurant yet have Never entered their doors to have a drink or eat, or spoken to that business.

It’s sad that so much information comes from the barber shops, grocery and the guy down the street that hasn’t left their house in 10 years.:faint: yet are experts.

How many times has the biggest complaint about Sawgrass is No Parking Available. Funny if all the spots are taken, wouldn’t that mean the establishments, are bringing in customers? Or do people just use Sawgrass parking to store their cars and golf carts?:1rotfl:

In all our years we spent time in SS between 2007-2010. Once LSL had enough business open we traveled there.
Once we sat down and realized 5% of our year was in SS, 20% in LSL. The the rest of the % we spent in Brownwood. Now south of 44 we will have more opportunities with Eastport and Middleton. Life changes, if developer can’t convince business to open, it’s still illegal to hold a gun to their head to make them sign a contract

The 3 hooters that are not coming are not connected to the Hooters that apparently will file bankruptcy

Over time we have found that restaurants outside the bubble are better so rare do we eat at one of the squares.

They are not just open and hanging on they are packed almost every night. Since Mcgradys became the sawgrass tavern wait times if you don’t have a reservation can be as much as an hour. This according to one of my daughters who works there.

I don't know of any Indian restaurant in Leesburg. Other than Ocala, the only one I know of is Shiva, in Mt. Dora. It's pretty good but a very tiny place, somewhat pricey, and portions are smaller than what I used to get up north.